Guest Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Hi everyone, Firstly, thanks for taking the time to read my post! Secondly, I am after some help! I have been out of the EY's for a couple of years but now I'm back and things seem to have changed! The setting where I work seems stuck in a time warp regarding planning and resources. We take it in turns to plan activities, bot related to what the children's interests are, but what is on our medium term planning ( this is a book, colour and shape a week). We carry out activities around the colour, shape and book and call children over to carry out these activities in their learning journey books. We have very old and worn out resources, which make planning exciting activities very difficult. For example, the role play area is not changed ever as we don't have any resources to change it into anything else! No one really knows what their key children are interested in as no one really spends any time playing with their key children, they are too busy getting children to make something for their books! Also no one plans for next steps either as they don't really seem to know what they are capable of at the present time. How can I change this? How do you all plan for your children's needs rather than just doing generic planning? Any help or links to helpful threads would be really grateful, I just don't know where to start. Thanks in advance, Monkey x
Cait Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 It sounds like something you'll need to raise at a staff meeting or supervision. Are you managerial? I would say lead by example then, get down on the floor and bring some life into the place. Read the recent threads on planning in the moment, and see if it sparks some ideas that you can take into preschool, 6
Rafa Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Hi Monkey7 - agree, sounds like its not moved forward........ Out of interest, when was their last Ofsted snd what was the judgement? The old, shape and colour theme eh? Not very inspirational in the way their implementing it, is it.....bor-ring! I agree with Cait, lead by example. Go on pinterest for lovely hands on colour and shape EXPERiENCES!! Show them how its done! If resources are not great, then look at ways to give them added value and playability. If your management/lead its easier to do but of course if your not it may be difficult changing years of 'we always do it this way' attitudes. Good luck with it....let us know how it goes 1
lsp Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Hi Monkey. What kind of setting are you working in?
Chrissie Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 The old, shape and colour theme eh? Not very inspirational in the way their implementing it, is it.....bor-ring! We have just Started doing this or rather we do letter/colour of the week........... and the children have loved it . We have encouraged them to bring objects from home to put on the COLOUR table or things that begin with the letter. The parents have commented on how the children have been searching for things at home to bring in and they have been recognizing the letters . We talk about the letter/sound and colour at circle time. We have been doing lots of mark making,looking at the shape of the letter.Looking at their names etc It does not have to be expensive to change Role Play area . For hairdressers i saved and asked parents to bring in empty/clean shampoo bottles etc (the smell stays for ages!) We had hair magazines donated by a parent . we brought some brushes/combes hair ties etc toy or real small Hairdryers/straighteners with wires plugs removed !. plastic mirrors. Our boys LOVE maps we put out travel mags ,a large map , magnifying glass ,telephones paper on clip boards and pencils. Building site today we had Hard Hats out with levels ,measuring tapes, tools clipboards paper and pencils , and bits of wood that we have had for ever. They made a racing car and a railway track!!!!!!!!!!!! and lots of Towers.I have asked a parent if he could bring in some building suppliers mags . Parents are a great at bringing things in if asked . Real food in Role play/Kitchen area is always a hit ! No one really knows what their key children are interested in as no one really spends any time playing with their key children, they are too busy getting children to make something for their books! We have been told that the art/craft activities should be child led/choice we used to get the children to do the same thing to take home everyday but due to a shortage of staff this is not possible all the time. We put out free painting ,sticking ,drawing which a adult keeps an eye on but children do themselves. Do you not have an ALL ABOUT ME BOOK ? the parents feels it in letting us know their childs likes and dislikes etc. at least once a week we try to take our key children into small group to do small activities or we do one to one for 5 min. Surely when you do observations and fill in quarterly reviews you can see where each child is at and their NEXT STEPS. Pininterest ,sparklebox, Activity Village are great for ideas.
louby loo Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 We do letter/sound/shape of the week too! We see this as another way of involving parents - we don't overdo it.. but like Chrissie says our children love it. ::1a ::1a ::1a Craft table/messy area - we have experiences rather than projects So maybe bubble painting or marble rolling type things. Children encouraged but not forced to participate. There is also a free choice selection area freely available in this area. Ms O like the fact our next steps are very much 'in the moment' rather then long term planned, although we have not yet cracked the Anna Ephgrave method ....just our own simple variant. However Ms O loved more than anything the fact all our staff know their key-children 'inside out' as she put it, and was very impressed that she could ask any member or staff about any child and they knew all about them too [not just their own key-children]. To be honest we were worried our bookwork/learning journeys didn't have enough detail in them. but she pointed out they were not a legal requirement and our simple tracking sheets easily indicated any shortfalls in development. 3
Guest Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Hi all, thanks for all the fab advice and words of encouragement. I am not managerial, which makes things even harder! We do not do letter of the week as it is believed that 'they' (by 'they' I guess they mean the Big O!) do not like it. We do give new parents and All About Me booklet to fill in when they first arrive, but they are not updated. We do reports twice a year and we can see where the gaps are in their learning is but we do not plan for these ordinarily. Do you all do Letters and Sounds Phase 1 activities? Either during carpet time or during the session? I will do some more digging around this site and read up on Anna Ephgrave! Thanks for all of your help! Monkey x
sunnyday Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 I am worried about the 'sparklebox' recommendation - a forum search will tell you why I wouldn't touch that site with a barge-pole 3
louby loo Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 I am worried about the 'sparklebox' recommendation - a forum search will tell you why I wouldn't touch that site with a barge-pole Totally agree. It seems to be reappearing everywhere now... but I still refuse to use it. 2
sunnyday Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Totally agree. It seems to be reappearing everywhere now... but I still refuse to use it. I will NEVER use it 1
Chrissie Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 oh no WHY?! will now google !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry :wacko:
Chrissie Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 ok ooppssss just googled is there still a issue regarding this site as the problem occured a few years ago! Such a shame as really good for resources .Hanging my head in shame !!! . Thanks for letting me know though . 2
Chrissie Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Who cares if MRS O does not like it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SORRY We make it a FUN time !!!!!!!!!!!(are children not allowed to have fun now !) We only do it for 5 min a day,ok the younger ones may not understand but the older ones do .Through out the session we talk about colours etc ie the bowels and cups for snack. Our colour table has been a huge success and the children have loved bringing the objects in and taking them straight to the table.
Fredbear Posted January 29, 2016 Posted January 29, 2016 Sparkle box is not a site I would ever use again. I'm not sure of its ownership now. :( 2
narnia Posted January 29, 2016 Posted January 29, 2016 I don't care who owns s******box now................if it has been taken over by someone else, then they should change the name, otherwise I'm afraid it's guilt by association. It will NEVER ever have a place in my setting. 2
Guest Posted February 22, 2016 Posted February 22, 2016 Instead of Sparklebox why not use Twinkl? To be fair it's not all free (as my school subscribes I have no idea how much of it is free as it lets me download everything). But there are some great resources linked to many different topics Sorry slightly off topic. More on topic I'm in a similar position. Poking around on the forums and elsewhere has lead me to objective-led planning as it seems like it can fit in well with my current scenario (mixed N/R with almost every child EAL from a range of 7 different countries). Has anyone tried it and have an opinion?
finleysmaid Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 Sparkle box is not a site I would ever use again. I'm not sure of its ownership now. :( still in the same hands i'm afraid and their site is very 'sticky' to computers....found their link hiding in amongst my files even though I am not aware of using them! 1
finleysmaid Posted February 23, 2016 Posted February 23, 2016 Hi everyone, Firstly, thanks for taking the time to read my post! Secondly, I am after some help! I have been out of the EY's for a couple of years but now I'm back and things seem to have changed! The setting where I work seems stuck in a time warp regarding planning and resources. We take it in turns to plan activities, bot related to what the children's interests are, but what is on our medium term planning ( this is a book, colour and shape a week). We carry out activities around the colour, shape and book and call children over to carry out these activities in their learning journey books. We have very old and worn out resources, which make planning exciting activities very difficult. For example, the role play area is not changed ever as we don't have any resources to change it into anything else! No one really knows what their key children are interested in as no one really spends any time playing with their key children, they are too busy getting children to make something for their books! Also no one plans for next steps either as they don't really seem to know what they are capable of at the present time. How can I change this? How do you all plan for your children's needs rather than just doing generic planning? Any help or links to helpful threads would be really grateful, I just don't know where to start. Thanks in advance, Monkey x HI Monkey and welcome ! can I just check...are you in a school or an early years setting? As for role play resources do you have any budget at all? when you say making something for their books....what books???! does sound a bit like they might be a bit stuck doesn't it! We work on a kind of objective led planning scheme based on fortnightly next steps but our children don't attend full time however the principles would work the same. The emphasis is on what can the child do now....what do we want them to do next ...how can we get them there (this is where interests are used to support learning). I have 10 languages spoken in the setting and very high levels of children with sen so my systems have to be really flexible! 2
SmileyPR Posted March 12, 2017 Posted March 12, 2017 I am feeling nauseaus now . I do not have 100% proof, but I have always suspected that Twinkle is related to Sparkle Box. I suspected at the beginning because Twinkle came out after the scandal and the name sounded similar. Look now at a comparison of a worksheet around the same topic. The one of Sparkle Box is an old one I had in my laptop (which I kept as reference for ideas on creating mine) and look at the one of Twinkle. Aren't they practically the same? If I go to Sparkle Box and search for it, it does not exist anymore, but keep doing it for other animal spotting (different habitats). How could this be verified? I am feeling "sick" thinking that these people could still be.... I don't want to even think about it! To think that our school renewed our yearly subscription with them just last week. SaveSave
Cait Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 It doesn't look good, does it? I didn't use either of those, but used Teacher something or other who seemed a very helpful, friendly bunch and could produce resources on request, like if we were looking at a specific book or whatever. Can anyone think of the name I mean?
narnia Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 I am going to ask them. I assume you mean Twinkl ( without the 'e'?) 1
Cait Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 I am going to ask them. I assume you mean Twinkl ( without the 'e'?) That's what her computer screen search bar says, without the 'e'
blondie Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 we use the letter and sounds book lots - great range of activities in there and lots are on letter sounds and listening skills - as you know children need to be able to differentiate between simple sounds so lots of ideas in there - listening walks are great, especially now weather is a bit drier. we do colour of the week - children bring in object of that colour if they like or look for object of the colour in the room and add it to the colour table (sometimes have to remove a few as as week goes on table gets a bit overloaded though) -also ask them to look for that colour outside as they play
narnia Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 Ok, I'll give them their due. I asked and have had a rapid response which I have copied for you all : Thanks for the message and it is lovely to hear from you! For the avoidance of doubt, Twinkl has, and has never had any association, affiliation or in any way linked to any other website. Twinkl is a new educational publisher, set up in February 2010 by Jonathan, Susie and Andrew Seaton and we pride ourselves on producing the very best resources for teachers. We aim to create a loving company that has, at the heart of it, a focus and desire to help teachers and children. Fruthermore, we have incredibly strong relationships with the likes of the Guardian newspaper, Goldman Sachs and in late 2014 had the former Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, come to our Sheffield offices to talk about teacher work load. If you would like to read more about the company then please do visit our Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkl_Educational_Publishing I hope this goes to provide reassurances that there is no affiliation with any other website but if you would like one of our managers to reassure you,l please get back in touch . Don't hesitate to get back to me if I can help with anything else. Have a lovely day Kind regards, Louise
finleysmaid Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 i would assume that the pictures will be from free downloads on the internet and therfore will often be similar. Just as if i went on google and did it myself on clipart. If ou do a WHOIS search the details for companies come up...quite a useful way of checking!
SmileyPR Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 It doesn't look good, does it? I didn't use either of those, but used Teacher something or other who seemed a very helpful, friendly bunch and could produce resources on request, like if we were looking at a specific book or whatever. Can anyone think of the name I mean? Teachers Pay Teachers?
SmileyPR Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 I am going to ask them. I assume you mean Twinkl ( without the 'e'?) Yes... sorry... I wrote it wrong.
SmileyPR Posted March 13, 2017 Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) i would assume that the pictures will be from free downloads on the internet and therfore will often be similar. Just as if i went on google and did it myself on clipart. If ou do a WHOIS search the details for companies come up...quite a useful way of checking! No, I had downloaded the Sparkle Box one myself from his website before the scandal. Our school has a Premium subscription with Twinkl and I downloaded it from there in these days. The thing is that they have many resources that are similar to many that I had used in the SB website long time ago. So, if SB had created it first, wouldn't Twinkl be infringing copy rights by making a similar, if not almost identical reproduction? If they would have any connections... Would they say so? <_< Edited March 13, 2017 by SmileyPR
narnia Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 I am taking their word for it. Sbox was something many of us used and most of us ditched when we realised the background of the person behind it. I have seen lots of stuff on sites that looks similar so it doesn't surprise me that there are similarities. So,for me, unless and until anyone can show me reason NOT to believe the Twinkl crew, I am choosing to believe them. If any of you are worried, I would suggest contacting them to ask your own questions. They have said they are happy to answer them 1
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